Deal of the Day: Wizards get the Warrior’s attention at #2

Deal of the Day 11.5, Salary cap rules may be bent but hopefully not broken.

Today’s Deal: Getting the Warrior’s Attention at #2

Last time we dealt with the Warriors for #2 overall, the assets moving were Thomas Bryant and the #9 pick. Many felt that wasn’t enough to get the Warriors attention. The Deal put that on the shelf while we re-imagined what Golden State would want out of Washington that didn’t include Bradley Beal.

The Wizards trade the #9 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, the #37 pick and forward Rui Hachimura to the Golden State Warriors for the #2 overall pick, a 2021 2nd round pick and forward Eric Paschall.

Why do the Warriors do the deal?

Once Beal is off the table (immediately) there isn’t much to interest the Warriors that would radically improve their chances at the 2021 NBA Championship. With basketball operations passing, the impetus is on ownership, i.e. business operations, to find a deal.

The Warriors haven’t been able to monetize their new arena due to the ongoing pandemic. At the same time they are currently on the hook for at least $142 million in salaries in 2021, well above the luxury tax threshold whether or not they intend to use all the room available under that trade exception they got for Andre Iguoudala. Like every other NBA franchise, they could use a financial win right about now.

Enter Hachimura.

As the first Japanese player drafted in the first round, Rui brings an international fanbase with him wherever he goes. Monumental Sports and Entertainment understood the market when they drafted him.

Here’s what Jim Van Stone, president of business operations for Monumental Sports and entertainment, which owns the Wizards, had to say:

“I think the Japanese market is potentially a booming market for basketball. It’s traditionally been a baseball marketplace, but we think with the global-ness that basketball provides, Japan is really a great opportunity.

“We think it’s a really unique opportunity for us to really grow our brand in Japan. We’ve really taken an aggressive thought process to it and making sure we’re authentic in the process.”

Rui. Japan. Jordan Brand. The Olympic Games in Tokyo. The Warriors are trading for an economy. That’s the kind of impact the Warriors brass would want, I think, yeah. The Warriors organization would prefer this scenario to say Kelly Oubre and #10. Hachimura makes $4.7 million next year. Oubre would add $14.4 million to the already lux-taxed Warriors. If there isn’t a plan to re-home Wiggins without taking much back, I don’t see Oubre working.

To be fair, there are good basketball reasons why plenty of teams like Hachimura. He made an early impact in his rookie season. He shows promise as a scorer and rebounder. The Warriors could use his strength and power to offset the more finesse parts of their attack. He has plenty of areas for improvement too. We get it.

Look no further than Harrison Barnes’ stint in Oakland as a blueprint for how the Warriors could use Hachimura. In his second year, Barnes mostly provided scoring and rebounding to their second unit. In his third year he started all 82 games, finishing fourth in minutes per game behind Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. In this scenario Rui would pick up more of the scoring load than Barnes did.

Oh For Comparisons’ Sake! (Barnes 2nd season vs Hachimura’s rookie season.)

Once off-court impact is figured in, a deal of #2 for Hachimura #9 and #37 doesn’t seem fair from Washington’s side. GSW sending back Paschall, an alleged target of Wizard’s GM Tommy Sheppard in last year’s NBA Draft, is a start. The Warriors add a 2021 second rounder, done deal.

Paschall and Hachimura are similar forwards. Eerily Similar.

Why do the Wizards do the deal?

This is not what Ted Leonsis had in mind. I can’t imagine Tommy has enough in him to convince Ted to do this deal even if they grade their guy at #2 as an All-Star. It’s also true that the front office likes Rui for the player he is and will become. Even so, they have to gauge his value when a high lottery pick is made available. In this scenario their guy is just too good to pass up with the #2 pick. Ah yes, the pick.

Lots of discussion around moving up for James Wiseman. He’s 7-0 with a 7-6 wingspan and he can run. Problem is he wants to be LaMarcus Aldridge, chilling 16-18 feet from the basket showing off his footwork. Instead of going down this road again, what if he’s not the target? What if the front office has that All-Star grade on a player that’s not Wiseman? [Throws a dart at the Big Board.]

The Wizards pull a wildcard and take 6-9 playmaking forward Deni Advija. I can hear heads exploding as I type that. #Meltdown

Something I didn’t know until yesterday: Deni’s father Zufer Avdija was a member of the Yugoslavia national team that won the bronze medal at the 1982 FIBA World Championship. Deni is Israel-born because that’s where his father (while playing pro ball) met his mother (a track and field athlete). I am a sucker for basketball love stories.

More importantly, he performed his best when his season restarted and his team/league truly featured him:

In seven contests between the Israeli BSL’s restart in mid-June and the beginning of the postseason in July, Avdija averaged 17.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game on 53.8/41.0/72.4 shooting splits, as his minutes (28.9 mpg) increased from earlier in their season.

Bonus points for potential trade exceptions, which always help make the front offices feel smarter.

Eric Paschall, 6-7 with a 7-4 wingspan, would be a nice scoring forward to bring off the bench. He just turned 24 on Wednesday. He makes $1.5 million this coming season and $1.8 million the season after that. Low cost rotation pieces are all the rage.

There it is. The only possible way for the Washington Wizards to entice the Golden State Warriors to swap picks is including Rui Hachimura. Deal?

The Wizards would buy a second round pick for a PG, then have the MLE (Serge Ibaka) and the BAE (Glenn Robinson III):

• John Wall - Ish Smith - Shabazz Napier (UFA)
• Bradley Beal - Troy Brown Jr. - Jerome Robinson - Garrison Mathews (RFA)
• Deni Avdija - Isaac Bonga - Admiral Schofield
• Davis Bertans (UFA) - Eric Paschall
• Thomas Bryant - __________ - Moritz Wagner - Anzejs Pasecniks (camp guarantee)

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Want to request a trade target or send a challenge? Email me at Jheiser3@gmail.com and include your Bullets Forever screen name.